Egri, Susanna (1926–)

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Egri, Susanna (1926–)

Hungarian-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Born Feb 18, 1926, in Budapest, Hungary; trained with Ferenc Nadési and Sári Bercsik at ballet school of Royal Opera House in Budapest.

One of the leading choreographers in Italy, appeared at opera houses and theaters in Milan, Venice, Turin, and Florence (late 1940s); choreographed opera works for Italian tv, RAI (starting 1949), which were often shown as feature-length films in US and Western Europe; founded own company, I Balletti di Susanna Egri (1953), which later became The EgriBiancoDanza Company (1999), one of Italy's most important dance companies; helped establish renowned Dance Study Center, later developed into Jolanda and Susanna Egri Foundation (1998); served as dancer, choreographer, company director and president of Foundation Centro di Studio della Danza Jolanda e Susanna Egri; served as vice-president of Conseil International de la Danse (UNESCO); received numerous awards, including Prix Italia TV (1963), Viotti d'Oro (1980) and Prix Positano (1999). Works of choreography include Instananne (1954), Chagaliana for RAI (1954), Incontro (1957), The Four Seasons (1961) and Jazz-Play (1964).